Automatic programming control board for automatic shutter system



T. w. BATTERMAN ETAL 2,917,640 AUTOMATIC PROGRAMMING CONTROL BOARD FORDec. 15, 1959 AUTOMATIC SHUTTER SYSTEM 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 21,1958 PRE-SET 374 "*"suuwsn T CAM -'BLEEDER PROGRAMMING BGARD COMPARATORMOTOR SHUTTER RELEASE SHUTTER INVENTORS.

POTENT- IOMETER PRODUCER THEODOREW. BATTERMAN MATHEW POBOG Dec. 15, 1959Filed Oct.

BATTERMAN ET AL 2,917,640

AUTOMATI C PI ROGRAMMING CONTROL BOARD FOR AUTOMATIC SHUTTER SYSTEM 3Sheets-Sheet 2 I26 INVENTORS:

THEODORE W. BATTERMAN MATHEW POBOG ATT'YS 1959 r. w. BATTERMAN ET AL 2,

AUTOMATIC PROGRAMMING CONTROL BOARD FOR AUTOMATIC SHUTTER SYSTEM FiledOct. 21, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTORSZ FIG. 4 THEODORE W. BATTERMANMATHEW POBOG AUTUMATIC PRQGRAMMING CONTROL BOARD FOR AUTOMATIC SHUTTERSYSTEM Theodore W. Batterman, Park Ridge, and Mathew Pobog,

Danville, Ill., assignors to Electric Eye Equipment Company, Danville,111., a corporation of Delaware .Application October 21, 1958, SerialNo. 768,687

17 Claims. (Cl. 30,7-.115)

This invention relates generally to systems for controlling theoperation of an automatic shutter, especially for printing motionpicture film, and more particularly is concerned with a programmingcontrol board for use with such system.

This application is a continuation-in-part of an application filed bythe applicants herein entitled: High Speed Automatic Shutter Mechanismand Control, Serial No.

764,331, filed September 30, 1958, and assigned to the assignee of thisapplication.

The system with which the present invention is used is described inconsiderable detail in said prior filed application and hence thisspecification will only describe the system generally anddiscuss itsrelationship with this cation fills a long-felt need in theart ofprinting motion picture film from master film. As well-known, during theprinting process, it is necessary to control the light used to exposethe sensitized film which is passed in contact with the master relativean aperture, the control being eiiected by movement of an arcuate bladeacross the beam of light, cutting ofi more or less of the beam impingingupon the aperture. 7

The editor who viewed the master film tabulated a list of the scenes andthe lighting which is required for each scene in order properly to printthe same. As the master film was viewed it was, marked with a cuingnotch, perforation or metal foil member so that the scenes could readilybe identified by the operator of the printing machine. In following thetabulation, each time that a scene was being printed, the operator ofprior structures was required to adjust a linkage which pre-set the nextposition cf the shutter. Thus, he was required to be able to make thecomplete adjustment of the linkage before the end of the previous scene,so that when the following scene arrived all that needed to be done wasto release thelinkage to permit the shutter to assume its pre-setcondition.

As pointed out in said application, higher speeds, color film, morestringent requirements of quality, shorter scenes and the like havegiven rise to great disadvantages in the use of the manually operatedprinting machines. The invention described in said application includeda completely automatic system in which the entire printing operation wasconducted by some programming means operating, with What may be brieflydescribed as a servo system, automatically to position and release theshutter as desired. Two systems were mentioned, one of which utilized apro-perforated tape upon which the lighting data was punched in a binarycode by the use of a perforator such as described in another co-pendingapplication entitled Tape Perforator, Serial No. 764,330, filedSeptember 30, 1958, by the applicants hereof and also assigned to thesame assignee as this application.

The said tape was passedthrough a reader which pro- United States Patent2,917,640 Patented Dec. 15, 1959 vided the necessary signals to operatethe shutter mechanism and its servo system. The second system describedis the one with which the invention herein is utilized.

The shutter is adapted to be moved by a linkage or kinematic systemwhich can literally store mechanical movement. The linkage is moved tosome position representing a given attitude of the shutter, butprevented from transferring its movement to the shutter until a commandpulse or signal releases a novel braking mechanism. The linkage in turnis driven by a suitable cam which is rotated by a servo system thatincludes a potentiometer having a rotatable slider which provides avoltage related in value to the position of the cam. The potential ofthe potentiometer is compared with the potentialof a bleeder or voltagedivider having a plurality of taps each providing a different potential.It will be seen that the operator can choose any desired tap of thebleeder and thereby provide a voltage to be compared with that of thepotentiometer. The comparison is done in a bridge circuit which willprovide an error signal for driving the motor of the servo system andthe rotation of the motor will in turn drive the potentiometer until acondition of balance and hence no error voltage is reached. Thisrotation also rotates the cam, thereby pre-positioning the shuttermoving linkage.

The programming board of the invention herein is a means which enablesthe taps of the bleeder to be connected into the servo system in anydesired sequence,

will'be used in printing the film. The usual values in the United Statesare designated by the numbers 1 to 22 with zero representing completeabsence of light, and hence the practical example of the invention had24 contacts and each selector which included one for a start-stopposition, which could be used to re-set the programming board back toits first position, if desired.

The editors tabulation is manually set into the programming board, bymoving the knobs to the desired light setting for the consecutivescenes. Thus, the'first knob is moved to the setting for scene 1, thesecond for scene 2 and so on through the complete film. If the number ofscenes is less than the number of selectors available, the selectorafter that which will set the shutter for the last scene is set to are-set position (designated No. 24 in this specification) and the boardis automatically re-set to a condition in which the cycle can be begunonce more. This may shut off the printing machine if desired, or can bearranged to recycle the program. If the number of scenes is greater thanthe number of selectors, the board will automatically return from thelast selector to the first and commence programming the settings fromthen on. Thus, after the first few scenes have been printed, theoperator can change the settings of the knobs of those selectors to newsettings.

After the board has been set up the system is energized and the firstscene is printed at whatever setting the shutter has been preset to. Thefirst impulse or command signal received from the cueing notch or foilof the film will operate a stepping switch and will connect the secondselector through a suitable cable to the comparison circuit of theshutter operating system. The second selector will be set at a contactthat connects the designated tap of the bleeder to the bridge to becomof a bridge. bleeder 70 is compared is derived from a potentiometerpared with the voltageof the potentiometer. The resultmg error signalwill drive the servo system until the bridge is balanced which providesa new cam position. The brake prevents movement of the shutter itself,however, until the scene is completed. When the scene is completed, thenext cueing signal or command pulse from the master film will releasethe brake to cause the shutter to immediately assume the positionpre-set for it by the linkage, and will then operate the stepping switchto connect the next selector to the bleeder, and the cycle continues.

Objects of the invention in addition to providing the necessaryprogramming for the shutter system described in said previously filedapplication, are to provide a compact, simple, and fool-proofprogramming board for use with any servo system which operates throughthe comparison of voltages between a rotating potentiometer and 'amulti-tap bleeder the taps of which are capable of being brought out toa plurality of manually operable selector switches.

Other objects are to provide means for connecting the selector switchesin sequence; to provide means for operating electronic numbering tubesin proper sequence along with the selector switches to identify theswitch that-is connected in circuit; to provide novel switching meansfor accomplishing the functions of the invention; and to provide manyother novel and utilitarian features which will become more apparent asthe description hereinafter proceeds.

In order to comply with the patent laws, the invention is describedhereinafter in connection with a pre ,ferred embodiment which isillustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary perspective view of a programming boardconstructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the system with which the invention isadapted to be used.

Figs. 3 and 4 together comprise a circuit diagram of the programmingcontrol board, the relationship between the figures being shown in theblock below Fig. 4.

Referring first to Fig. 2 for the general system with which the board isadapted to be used, the programming board is shown at the leftdesignated as 46 and it has a plurality of connections comprising acable 50 which connect the various selector switches with the taps ofthe bleeder 70 so that a voltage from the bleeder is applied to thecomparator 108 which may be in the form The potential with which thatfrom the 60 whose slider is driven by the servo-motor 54. Theservo-motor 54 is also coupled with a cam 261 which in turn moves apre-setting mechanism 374 whose function it is to eventually positionthe shutter 40 if permitted to do so by a shutter release mechanism 62.The system is set into operation by the passage of the master film 32carrying a cueing mark or the like 41 relative to a cue signal producer43 which provides the command signal that releases the shutter and movesthe circuit of the programming board to the next selector switch andconnects same to the bleeder 70.

The characters of reference used above are substantially identical withthose of the co-pending patent application, Serial No. 764,331, toenable the common structure of these applications to be readilyrecognized as described thus far. I

In Fig. 1 there is illustrated a cabinet of the face of which carries aplurality of selector switches SW SW SW etc., each having a manuallyadjustable knob which enables a contact arm A1, A2, A3, etc. of therespective selector switches to be engaged with any one of the 24contacts provided on the switches. In Fig.

3, the contacts of SW are the only ones numbered, but

all selector switches are constructed identically. Likewise the externaldials over which the knobs rotate are suitably numbered to show thepositions of the knobs.

Note that in this instance there are 24 contacts, which provide the 22different intensities of light, a zero setting which is at contact 24,and a setting for re-setting the board which is at contact 23. Alsoshown in Fig. 1 is a manual re-set button 11, a manual pre-set button13, a power switch 15, and three electronic numbering tubes 17, 19 and21. These latter are conventional structures but are required to beenergized by applying current to the electrodes thereof in order tocause same to display any one of the ten digits that are provided asfilaments. Their purpose is to give a visual display of the number ofthe selector switch which is connected into the servo system circuit.

Obviously any form of board may be used, either in upright or consoleform, or in table or desk form.

Attention is now invited to the circuit of Figs. 3 and 4. This circuitillustrates in' conventional symbols the important structural featuresof the invention, and wherever possible, repetition has been avoided.Thus, only typical selector switches are illustrated, namely SW SW SWand SW these being arbitrarily chosen for the illustration. All of theseswitches are preferably identical. Likewise, not all of the connectionsare illustrated where obvious. All of the number 1 contacts of allselector switches SW SW SW etc. are connected together and extend to thecircuit-end terminal 1 of theplug or terminal board 52. Likewise, all ofthe number 2 contacts go to the circuit-end terminal 2 of the board, andso on, all the way through circuit-end terminal 24. Thus, since 23terminals are connected to different taps of the bleeder 70, each time acircuit is closed to one of the switches SW SW SW etc., the connectedtap of the bleeder is placed in the comparison circuit A unless theswitch happens to be on contact number 23.

The structure of the invention is required to connect the switches SW SWSW etc. into the circuit seriatim, i.e., one after the other, with eachchange of scene. This may be considered a type of scanning a pluralityof circuits, although the rate at which this is done is intermittent andoccurs with the changes of the scenes of the master film. The structureis not limited to such use, however, and could just as easily beconnected into a servo system where the function of the system is tomechanically and automatically position a member in any one of aplurality of different positions in accordance with a pre-determinedschedule or, program of positions, and the switch circuits could bescanned, that is, connected to the chosen taps of the bleeder by meansof scanning device operating at a constant speed independent of externalcommand signals.

In the circuit of the invention, the scanning of the selector switchcircuits is accomplished by means of a stepping switch 45 which has aplurality of banks of contact terminals, operating in conjunction with asecond stepping switch 47 that also has a plurality of banks ofterminals, which will be referred to as tiers, only for distinguishmentpurposes.

In the claims, the contacts of the selector switches SW SW SW etc. arereferred to as first contacts to distinguish them from the contacts ofthe stepping switch 45 which are referred to as second contacts.

The stepping switch 45, as previously stated has a plurality of banks ofcontacts, there being six banks provided in the particular structureillustrated, these being designated ST ST ST ST.,, ST and ST and therebeing a contactor on each bank designated respectively 71, 72, 73, 74,75 and 76 all ganged together. It should be understood that therepresentation in Fig. 3 is merely symbolic and not intended torepresent particular structure. In the commercial device, the banks wereeach provided with two rows of contacts and since in the first fivebanks all of the contacts of one row were connected together, the wiper,slider or contactor or" these banks may be represented by a simplepivoted arm, while the independent contacts may be shown as thoseterminalspover which-ithe contactors pass in*their1r0ta- -tio n. :EachbankST lSTzt-ST ST; and ST has thirty contacts equally-spacedso thatrotation of the respective contactor will be continuous. These contactsare connected as follows:

, In the bank ST; the contacts are connected to the wiper arms of theswitches SW to SW respectively, so that the contact terminals of STwould be conven- -iently-numbered.,1 through 30 inclusive. Only a few ofthe contacts areshown, but obviously they extend completely around thecircle representing the bank. Of the four selector switches SW SW SW andSW shown in the circuit diagram as typical, obviously the wiper arms 12,14, and 16 of the first three are connected to terminal contacts of thebank ST This is also true of the other 27 of the first thirty selectorswitches which are not shown.

In the bank ST the contacts are numbered 31 to 60 inclusive and areconnected to the wiper arms of the next thirty selector switches SW toSW respectively.

In the bank ST the contacts are numbered 61 to 90 inclusive and areconnected to the wiper arms of the next thirty selector switches SW toSW respectively.

In the bank ST the contacts are numbered 91 to 120 inclusive and areconnected to the wiper arms of the next thirty selector switches SW toSW respectively. The selector switch SW illustrated as typical would bein this group and has its wiper 18 connected to the contact terminal 110of said bank 8T In the bank 8T the contacts are numbered 121 to 150inclusive and are connected to the wiper arms of the next thirtyselector switches SW to SW respectively.

. Other' banks and selector switches could be used, and the number ofterminals per bank need not be thirty, which happens to be a multiple of150, the total number 'of selector'switches SW SW SW etc.

*The sixth bank 8T is not used to scan the selector switches, but has acompletely different purpose to be described. Its first nine pairs ofcontacts are not connected in the circuit, and the remaining 21 contactsof each row are all connected together so that in effect there is aconnection established between them whenever the contactor 76 is betweenthe 10th and 30th contacts inclusive. This closes a circuit to theconductors and 22. The conductor 22 connects through the bank with theconductor 23.

' All of the contactors 71 to 76 are mounted for ganged rotation on thesame shaft, indicated by the broken line 24 along with a cam or the like25 which has a projection 26 that raises the arm 27 once with eachrevolution of the contactors thereby moving the switch arm 28 to thecontact terminal 29 to close the circuit between the conductors 30 and31, while also moving the switch arm 33 from the contact terminal 34 tothe contact terminal 35 thereby changing the application of power fromthe contact terminal 36 to the conductor 37.

The step switch operates in conjunction with the step switch 47 (Fig. 4)to scan the selector switches SW SW SW etc. in their consecutive order.Generally the step switch 47 is energized every thirty steps of the stepswitch 45 to enablethe respective banks to be consecutively connectedinto the circuit.

The step switch 47 has three tiers of contacts designated T T and T eachof which has a slider designated respectively 47', 48 and 49. The tierseach have a common bus and seven contacts over which the respectiveslider moves. Not all contacts are in the circuit and hence only thoseused are shown along with the first contact of each tier, this being theinitial positi'on of the sliders-before movement. Tier T has thecontacts designated A1, A2, A3, A4, A5 and A6 only the latter five beingactive, and its slider 47' establishes connection between these contactsand the bus 33. This bus is connected with the conductor 39. Thecontacts '6 A2, A3, A4, A5 and A6 connectrespectivelyto thewiper arms71, 72, 73, 74 and 75.

Tier T has the initial contact B1 and'three additional contacts all ofwhich are active, these latter being B5, B6 and B7 connectedrespectively to the conductors 20, 22 and the conductor 42. The bus 44is grounded as is ths bus-51 of tier T This latter tier has the contactsC1, C2, C3, C4, C5 .and C6, only the latter five being connected intothe circuit as will be described.

The contactors 71 to 76 and the cam disc 25 are advanced a step at atime, that is, the circumferential distance between two adjacent contactterminals of the banks ST 5T 8T etc. .each time that an electrical pulseis applied to the solenoid 53 by a suitable signal derived by way of theconductor 55 in a manner to be described. Note that each time thesolenoid 53 steps the switch 45, it moves the switch arm 56 off thecontact 36 and .disconmeets the conductor 57 from the power supplythrough the switch arm '33.

As will be described, the circuit is 'such as to consecutively scantheselector switches SW SW SW .etc., but since this is an electricalsituation involving a large number of switches, the invention hasprovided a visual indication of theposition of the scanning meansthatis, the number of the selector switch which is connected in the circuitthrough the combined action of the switches 45 and 47, these latter twotogether being considered the scanning means.

There are provided three conventional electronic numbering tubes orcells 17, 19, and 21, whose purpose is to display the digits of a numberrepresenting the scanning position. The tube 17 provides the hundredsdigits, and since in the structure of the example there were only 150selector switches, the number 1 terminal of this tube is the only oneused. It is connected to the conductor 23. The tube 19 is the tensdigits tube and all ten of its terminals are used. The tube 21 is thesingle digits tube and 'all ten of its numeral terminals are used. Allthree tubes have common terminals marked C which are connected throughdropping resistors to the B+ supply. When a circuit is connected betweenany numeral terminal and ground the numeral filament whose terminal isinvolved will glow and be seen on the front 'of the cabinet 10.

A stepping switch 58 similar to the switch 45 is provided for operationto cause the display of the numerals representing scanning position.There are also six banks, designated N N N N N and N each provided witha wiper arm or contactor 81, 82, 83, 84, 85 and 86, respectively. Thefirst arm 81 is grounded. Arm 82 is connected to the contact C2 of tierT and arms 83, 84, S5 and 86 are likewise connected to the respectivecontacts C3, C4, C5 and C6. Of the banks, the only bank with allcontacts used individually is the first, bank N Its contacts arenumbered 1 to zero, thus providing three groups of ten, with all of the1s connected together and extending by the lead 77 to the number 1terminal of tube 21, all of the 2 s connected together and extending bythe lead 78 to the number 2 terminal of the tube 21, and so on, witheach group of contacts connected to the corresponding numeral terminalof the tube 21.

The bank N has the first nine contacts disconnected. The next tencontacts are connected together and marked with the numeral 1representing the numbers from 10 to 19 in the indicator tubes '19 and 21and these are connected to the number 1 terminal of the tube 19 by thelead 79, while also beingconnected to the terminals 20 to 2-9 of thebank N; by the lead 80 which terminals of N are all connected togetherand marked 1. The next ten contacts of the bank N are also connectedtogether and marked with the numeral 2 representing the numbers 20 to 29in indicator .tubes 19 and 21' and these are connected to the number 2terminal of the tube 19 by the lead 59 which also connects the 30thcontact-of the bank N marked with'the number 2, and the .7 first ninecontacts of the bank N marked with the number 2.

The connections to banks N and N enable the step switch 58 to providethe numbers 110 to 119 in the indiswitch means of the device is suchthat the actual command pulse does not do the stepping, but rather thecompletion thereof does, so that the shutter is released to itspreviously set position before the new position is procator tubes andthe numbers 120 to 129 as will be ex- 5 duced by the operation of theservo system. Through plained. The numbers 0 to 9 in indicator tube 21are the circuit-end terminal 26 other components in the sysprovided byconnections of bank N terns may have switches to enable the manualpulsing of In a similar manner the connections for the banks are therelay R remotely. made to the indicator tubes to provide the numeral in-Note that the terminal 150 is connected by way of the dications. Thefollowing tabulates the connections for 19 lead 100 to the contact B1 oftier T so that the circuit the banks: to ground through the solenoid 94may also be closed Bank Contacts Marked Additional Oonduc To providedisconnections tors play numbers -19 1 79, 80 10-19, 110-119 -29 2Nt-ao, N61-9 5 20-29,120-129 30 3 N 1-9. N 10-19 61, 63, 04 39-39,130-139 10-19 4 N,20-29 05, 66 -49, 140-149 20-29 5 N 07, 68 -59, 150 306 09, 87 00-09 10-19 7 88 -79 20-29 8 89 -89 30 9 90,91 90-99 10-19 0 92-109 By way of explanation of this chart, the first column is the bankinvolved, the second column describes the contacts of the bank that areconnected together. In considering the numbers of the contacts, thebanks each have thirty contacts circumferentially equi-distant likethose of the step switch 45, and the numbering is clockwise with the topcontact being considered the 30th. The third column has the numeral withwhich the groups of contacts, or the single contacts in several cases,are marked. All inter-connected contacts have the same numeral which isalso the numeral of the contact terminal of tube 19 to which the groupsare connected. The fourth column identifies the other groups andindividual contacts included in the same circuit and the fifth columncontains the characters of reference applied in Fig. 3 to the leads orconductors associated with the particular group. The last column liststhe display numbers to which the particular group will contribute duringoperation of the device. The only group of numbers not present is thatfrom 0 to 9. These are provided by the connections of bank N and tube21. Incidentally, the last digit of all numbers will be provided by thebank N which merely repeats itself three times for each revolution.

There are two relays R and R which are energized to cause operation ofthe entire device and these will now be described.

Relay R includes a solenoid 93, six switch arms A, B, C, D, E and F anda plurality of contacts to be engaged by the switch arms whose normalposition is upward.

The upper contacts are designated simply by small numerals 1, and thelower contacts are designated by the small numerals 2. Those contactsnot contributing to the operation of the circuit are omitted.

' Relay R includes a solenoid 94, two switch arms G and H and severalcontacts identified like those of relay R Normal position of the arms isupward.

One side of the relay solenoid 94 is connected through a switch 95 toground. This switch 95 is operated by the manual pre-set button 13 whichis located on the front panel of the cabinet 10 and enables theprogramming board to be operated without automatic pulsing merely bypressing the button whenever a new setting of the shutter pre-setmechanism is desired. This same circuit is connected through the lead 96from the terminal 150 to the circuit-end terminal 26 so that the commandpulses from the cue-signal producer 43 will serve to step the steppingswitch means of the circuit through energization of the solenoid 94. Itshould he pointed out that the cue signal producer 43 is so arrangedthat it also applies a signal through the general path 151 to theshutter release, and the construction of the stepping through B1. Theopposite side of the solenoid 94 is connected to B by means of which thepower for operating the relay R is provided.

Upper contact 1 of the switch arm G is normally connected with saidswitch arm and extends to the terminal 28 of the plug 52 by way of thelead 97. Since G is connected with the lead 39 and the bus 38, and thisterminal 28 extends to the comparator 108, the lead 97 provides a commonconductor for whichever one of the selector switches happens to beconnected into the circuit and the terminal 28 may be considered thecommon ter minal for the selector switch circuits.

The upper contact 1 of the switch arm H is connected in series with thesolenoid 93 by way of the conductor 98, the other terminal of thesolenoid 93 being connected also to the re-set terminal 23 and all ofthe contact terminals numbered 23 of the switches SW SW SW etc. Therelay R is a re-set relay, that is, when operated, all of the wipers ofthe step switches 45, 47 and 58 are returned to their zero positions.Thus, if any of the selector switches SW SW SW etc. had been manuallyset by its knob to position 23, when in the course of scanning thatswitch was connected into the circuit, the entire circuit would bere-set to zero. The same effect can be obtained manually through closingthe switch 99 by pressing the button 11 on the cabinet 10, this switchgrounding the solenoid 93 and completing the energizing circuit thereof.There may be similar re-set switches located throughout the system whichwould ground a conductor connected to circuit-end terminal 23 of theplug 52, but in the structure shown, the circuit-end terminal 23 isopen.

The upper terminal of the solenoid 93 is also connected to the switcharm A and the contact 137 by the conductor 42. Obviously when the slider47' engages the contact B7, grounding the same through the buss 44, thesolenoid 93 will energize the re-set relay R The step switch 58, aspreviously stated, is practically the same as step switch 45. It isstepped by the solenoid 101, one side of which is grounded and the otherside of which is connected by the lead 102 to the switch arm B of therelay R Switch arm B in turn normally engages the contact 1 whichconnects with the conductor 30, the upper contact 1 of the switch arm Eand the lower contact 2, of the switch arm H of the relay R Note thatswitch arm E of relay R connects to the other stepping solenoid 53 byway of the conductor 55.

The pulsing of the solenoid 101 will rotate all of the contactors 81,82, 83, 84, 85 and 86 simultaneously through a commonly connected shaft,shown symbolically at 102, along with the cam disc 103 which carries theprojection 104. Once each revolution, the arm 105 with, the contact 107and closing the circuit between the conductor 37 and the conductor 109.This latter lead is connected to the switch arm C ,of relay R At thesame time this occurs, the switch arm 110 which is connected 9 to B'+ ismoved off the contact 111 thereby opening the ,circuit whichincludes thecontact 112, switch arm 113,

and the lead 114. This latter lead connects to the lower contact 2 ofthe switch arm B of relay R The switch arm 113 is moved from the contact112 each time the solenoid 101 is pulsed.

The step switch 47 is stepped forward by energizing the solenoid 115,one side of which is grounded and the other side of which is connectedby the lead-31 to the ,contact 29 of switch arm 23. The switch isreturned to ,itsinitialpo-sition by energizing the reset solenoid 116,pne side of which is grounded and the other. side of which is connectedby way of the lead 117 to the lower contact 2 of the switch arm C ofrelay R 1 The source of power for the programming board and ,as well theremaining components of the system may be provided in the cabinet 10. Asshown in'the diagram oflig. 3, "therei is a rectifier 118 which has twoD.C. outputs, one of which appears at the terminal 119 and is conductedtothe switch arm F, through its contact 1 by'the'v lead 120 to theterminal 27 of the plug 52. The otheroutput is marked B+. A lead 121connects terminal .30of the plug 52 withB-lto make this available to'other components of the system, if desired. The input to jtherectifieris a conventional A.C. line including a 1switch 15,' fuse '122 and A.C.leads 123 and 124 to the 'tj inals131 and-1320f the plug 52, therebymaking the '5 volt AC. power available to other components of :"thesystem. The line is applied to the primary winding 125 of the power.transformer 126, the secondaries 127 and 128 providing the increasedvoltage for the operation of the board. The conventional elementscomprising resist o rs, filter condensers, rectifiers, as well as anti-:sparking networks which are illustrated are not desig- -nate d sincetheir functions are obvious and well-known. The relays R and R and allof the switches of the circuit are shown in their normal positions. Itmay be presumed that the selector switches have all been moved to theirproper positions for programming the printing of a reel of master film32. Note that the first switch SW is on contact 9, the second SW is setfor contact 120. All of the step switches 45,47 andg58 are on their-z'e'ropositions.

As soon as the power switch 15 is closed the following functions occur:

(a)-lf we presume that we had manually stepped all of thestep switchesto their zero positions, that is, to the positions where the projections26 and 1114 are in engagefrfnen tfwiththe arms 27 and 105 respectively,the contactors ,71, 72, 73, 74, 75 and 76 would all be on theirrespective contacts 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150. .Likewise, thecontactorsSl, 82, 83, 84, 85and 86 would be positioned on contacts 0, 3,6, 9, 2 and 5 of the banks N to ,N respectively representing theposition of the 30th contact of each bank. In this circumstance, acircuit is completed from B+ through the solenoid lead 100, contact B1of tier T slider 48 and bus 44 toground, thereby energizing thesolenoid94 and pulling down the arms C and H. It will be seen by tracing thecircuits that "all of the solenoids 53, 115. and. 101 will not beenergized 'until. the bottom contact 2 of the switch arm H of relay R isengaged by the switch arm to energize them from the potential source B+.On zero, that is, 30th contact position, these are all open. Thesolenoid 93 is also open, since it connects with the contact B7 of thetier T b) {As soon as the pre-set relay R operates, all threeQfjthesolenoids 53, 115, and 101 are energized through :contact) ofswitch arm H and the circuit is in the direction shown in Fig. 3, sinceall of the contactors of all advance to number 1 contact position (allare shown'in number 3- position in the-illustration;butathe .contact A2,contactor 71, contact number 1 of the bank T connecting lead fromcontact number 1 to the wiper arm 1201? the selector switch SW contactnumber 9 .of that switch to the circuit-endterminal 9 of the plug 52.This extends back to the. number 9 tap'ofthe bleeder 70 so that thepotential of that tap can be compared with the potential picked off thepotentiometer 60. .This

therefore sets the servo system into operation to'cause thepre-positioning mechanism of the shutter 40 to operate.

In the meantime, of course, the master film is passing through theprinter and being printed at a light intensity which is determined bythe previously set condition of the shutter pre-set linkage. If this isthe second time that the entire selector switches are begun, the film isbeing printed at a light intensity which is determined by the settingprovided by the selector switch SW If this is the beginning of a filmprinting job, however, the step switch 45 would immediately step thecontactors 71, 72, 73, 74, 75 and 76 to the number 2 position, andconnect SW in the circuit, through the circuit-end .terminal 20 (notthat the wiper 14 is on contact 20) to commence the setting up of thenext position of the shutter 40. This is done either by pulsing therelay R manually when. the film has been started to cause it to im-.mediately set up the conditions for the first scene.

From what has been described, it is obvious that there is actually nozero position of the programming board.

Immediately that the board is energized it steps itself .to thecondition connecting the first switch SW into the circuit, and if acuing notch or mark is placed on the master film atthebcginning of thefirst scene, the shut- ,ter 40 will first be released to the number 1position according to the setting manually placed on the selector switchsW when the common signal is received, after whlch the switch SW will beconnected into the circuit and remain so until the end of the firstscene, at which point a command pulse will step the contactors to thenext position, etc.

The circuits tothe two numeral tubes 19 and 21 are likewise changed togive the proper numerals. When solenoid 53 is energized, 'so'is solenoid101. For the first nine steps, the contactor 82 is free and since N isthe only bank connected with the step switch 47, there is no display ineither tube 17 or 19. Bank N has its contact always grounded, and hence,the tube 21 will constantly display one of the digits from 1 to 0 as theswitch 58 is stepped. As soon as the contactor 82 reaches the number 1grouping on contacts, the digit 1 filament glows in tube 19, whichtogether with the digit of tube 21 gives the number of the selectorswitch which is in the circuit .with the comparator 108.

As the stepping continues, for the first 3O switches SW, to SW contactor71 is engaging the contacts 1 to 30 of bank 8T and making circuitthrough the contact A2 of tier T of stepping switch 47. Contactor 82 ofbank N is grounded through C2 of tier T for displaying the numerals 1and 2 in the tube 21 with the digits being displayed through thesimultaneous movement of .contactor 81 of N in the tube 21.

Note that when the 30th contact of ST is reached, the switch 45 will notstep immediately but will await the 30th command pulse because now thevslider 48...i-s

'- not engaged with the contact B1. When this 30th command signal isreceived, solenoid 115 will be pulsed to the 3rd row of contacts and thescanning will continue through switches SW to SW while bank N providesthe numerals 3, 4 and 5 for the tube 19. Note also that for the 30thcontact position of contactor 82 it is on the single number 3 contactwhile contactor 81 is on a zero contact so that the tubes 19 and 21display the numeral 30. (The tubes are reversed in their positions inFig. 4.) Likewise the 60th command pulse produces the numeral 60 in thetubes 19 and 21.

This process continues through the connection of SW into the circuit. Atthis time, the contactor 73 will be on the 9th contact of the bank 5Twhich is the number 99 contact; slider 47' will be engaged with thecontact A5; slider 48 will be engaged with the contact B5 which in turnis connected to the interconnected contacts of bank ST but open at thispoint because contactor 76 not engaging the connected contacts. Thecontactor 85 is connected with the contact C5 which is grounded throughslider 47' and buss 51. The tube 19 and 21 display the numeral 99.

The next pulse carries the contactor 76 into engagement with theconnected contacts of bank ST This grounds the circuit of the number 1contact of tube 17 through lead 23, connected contacts of bank STcontactor 76, lead 20, contact B5, slider 48 and buss 44. Thus, thedigit "1 appears on the tube 17. The other tubes 19 and 21 display zerosfor the 100th command pulse.

Thereafter, as the device continues to scan the switches SW to SW theconditions described prevail, except that the respective selectorswitches are connected into the circuit seriatim, and the zero andnumeral 1 appear on the tube 19 for ten and nine respectively of thenext 19 steps. At 120, the numeral 2 appears on the tube 19, as mayreadily be seen by tracing the circuit,

and the next command pulse accomplishes the following:

The three sliders 47', 48 and 49 are moved down to the contacts A6, B6and'C6, connecting bank ST into the scanning circuit, connecting bank Ninto the numbering circuit, and connecting the grounded buss 44 directlywith the lead 23 through the conductor 22 and the grounded contacts ofthe bank ST The contactor 76 moves to the blank portion of the bank 8Tbut this does not affect the numbering circuit because the numeral 1terminal of tube 17 is now continuously connected to ground and alwaysdisplays the numeral 1 through the next 29 steps which brings the totalnumber of steps to 150 and inserts the selector switch SW into thecircuit.

From the 150th step to the next brings the scanning of the switches to acompletion. This movement will again energize the solenoid 115, and willdisconnect sliders 47' and 49 from any contacts, but will bring slider48 into Tracing the circuit engagement with the contact B7. therebyclosed, it is seen that B7 grounds the solenoid 93 through the conductor42. This being the re-set solenoid, relay R is operated and closesswitch arm C upon contact 2, energizing solenoid 116 by way of the lead117, from B+ through the lead 109, contact 107, switch arm 106, lead 37,contact 35, and switch arm 33.

The switch arm D and contact 2 are used through the terminal 25 of theplug 52 to energize a circuit or circuits in other components of thesystem when the circuit is re-set for use. Switch arm A and contact 2are for holding the relay R energized until a step has been taken whichdeenergizes solenoid 93 through movement of switch arm H.

The reset described above will occur when the entire number of switchesSW SW SW etc. have been scanned, or it may be caused to occur at anytime that any desired number of switches have been scanned by merelysetting the following switch at the position 23 which will causeenergizing of the reset relay R through the common terminal 28 and oneside of bleeder 70.

Further explanation of the operation of the device may be dispensed withfor brevity, it being obvious from the circuit how the various parts ofthe structure operate for difierent conditions. As previously stated,the use of an intermittent command pulse is not considered to be alimitation, since the circuit may be pulsed either manually, orautomatically and periodically by any suitable means.

What it is desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A programming device for use in a system in which a plurality ofoperations are to be consecutively performed upon command signals, eachoperation being performed under one of a plurality of conditions, andthere being an electrical circuit for each condition, said device havinga common output terminal and a plurality of circuit-end terminals eachadapted to be connected to a particular one of said electrical circuitsof said system, a plurality of manually adjustable selector switcheseach having a wiper and a number of first contacts equal at least to thenumber of circuit-end terminals and adapted to be pre-adjusted toposition the wiper of each selector switch to a pre-determined one ofsaid first contacts, the similarly located first contacts of eachselector switch being connected together and to the respectivecircuit-end terminals so that each of said circuit-end terminalsconnects with a similarly positioned first contact on all selectorswitches, stepping switch means having a plurality of second contactseach connected to one of said wipers in the order in which it is desiredthat the selector switches be scanned, a common connection from thestepping switch means to the common output terminal, and means forclosing the circuit of said stepping switch means from second contact tosecond contact in consecutive order each time a command signal isapplied thereto so as to scan the selector switches and complete acircuit between said common output terminal and one of said circuit-endterminals through the consecutive selectorvswitches, whereby for eachcommand signal the circuit-end terminal will be included in thecompleted circuit which corresponds to the chosen one of said firstcontacts of the particular selector switch connected into said circuitby said step switch means.

2. A structure as claimed in claim 1 in which said stepping switch meansincludes a plurality of banks of second contacts, each bank having thesame number of second contacts and the said number being substantiallyless than the number of selector switches, and said circuit closingmeans of said stepping switch means including a movable contactor oneach bank and all contactors ganged to move in unison one step over thesecond contacts of all banks each time that a command pulse is appliedtosaid device, and means for transferring the common connection from onebank to the next after each complete cycle of movement of saidcontactors, whereby during the scanning of said selector switches, thecircuit to said common output terminal will be closed seriatim througheach of the said second contacts of the banks, bank by bank.

3. A structure as claimed in claim 2 in which said stepping switch meansincludes two stepping switches, one having said banks and the otherhaving a plurality of contact terminals and a slider, the slider adaptedto move from contact terminal to contact terminal for each completecycle of said contactors, and said contact terminals being connected toat least some of the respective banks to enable said afore-mentionedtransfer.

4. In a system for performing a plurality of operations each beingperformed under a different condition depending upon the completion of adifferent circuit in the system, and each operation adapted to beperformed by the production of a command pulse in said system, means forprogramming the operations and comprising a plurality of selectorswitches each manually adjustable to a separate one of a plurality ofdifferent positions, each selector switch having at least a certainnumber of positions and all the similarly located positionsof'leach-selector switchbeing connected to a circuit-endterminalsothattthere are as many circuit-end terminals as said certain number ofpositions but each ,circuit-end terminal has one connection to everyswitch, a common' terminal andthe programming means being connectedinto. said system so that whichever selector switch is inthe circuit ofsaid programming means, the z ldjus ted;position thereof will providethe particular circuit of the system to prescribe the operationconditions, eachselector switch having a common junction, steppingswitch means having a plurality of contacts one connected witheach ofsaid common junctions, means energized by said command pulseestablishing a connection between said common terminal and the contactsof said stepping switch means one at a time to scan the selectorswitches.

5. A structure according to claim 4 in which display numbering means areprovided adapted to be energized to indicate the identification of theselector switch which is connected into the circuit, and second steppingswitch means are provided operated in synchronism with said firststepping switch means and having a plurality of energizing circuitsconnected with said numbering means for selectively energizing the samewith each command pulse.

6. A structure according to claim 4 in which said stepping switch meansinclude a plurality of banks of said contacts and contactors ganged toscan said banks and means are provided for switching from bank to bankonce for each cycle of scanning of a bank.

7. A structure according to claim 4 in which said stepping switch meansincludes a plurality of banks of said contacts and contactors ganged toscan said banks and means are provided for switching from bank to bankonce for each cycle of scanning of a bank, comprising anelectromagnetically energized multiple position switch, an energizingcircuit for said switch, each position closing a circuit to a difierentbank, and a circuit closer ganged with said contactors and arranged tooperate once each cycle to close a circuit for energizing said multipleposition switch.

8. A circuit closing device adapted to be operated by receipt of aseries of command signals, having a plurality of circuit-end terminalsand a common output terminal, the circuits adapted to be selectivelyclosed between a pre-determined one of said circuit-end terminals andsaid common output terminal each time that a command signal is received,said device including a plurality of selector switches each having aplurality of first contacts connected to the respective circuit-endterminals, and each having a manually adjustable contact arm enablingeach switch to be positioned with the contact arm engaging any one ofits first contacts, step switch means having a plurality of secondcontacts each contact being connected with one of said contact arms,contactor means adapted to engage said second contacts and connectedwith said common output terminal, and electromagnetic relay meansadapted to be energized by said command signal to step said contactormeans from second contact to second contact to scan said selectorswitches and close one of said circuits with each step.

9. A structure as claimed in claim 8 in which said step switch meansincludes a connection closed through said electromagnetic relay meansfor the initial position of said step switch means whereby said devicewill step once when same is initially energized.

10. A circuit closing device adapted to be operated by receipt of aseries of command signals, having a plurality of circuit'end terminalsand a common output terminal, the circuits adapted to be selectivelyclosed between a predetermined one of said circuit-end terminals andsaid common output terminal each time that a command signal is received,said device including a plurality of multipleposition switches eachhaving a manually adjustable meme q .t st s, s m nv o f. a .p s tion andsas having a common conductor and a .terminal point for each PQs ition,at least a certain number of the terminal points of each switch beingrespectively connected to said circuit end terminals, stepswitch meanshaving a plurality of contacts and contactor means connected withsaidcommon output terminal and adapted to engage said contacts, eachcontact being connected to a common conductor of a multiple-position,switch whereby the number of contacts is the same as the number ofmultiple-position switches, first electromagnetic means adapted to beenergized by said command signal to move said contactor means one stepfor each signal to scan said contacts and close said circuits throughsaid multiple-position switches one at a time, and secondelectromagnetic means adapted to be energized by a suitable re-setsignal to return said contactor means to initial positionfrom engagementwith any contact.

11. A structure as claimed in claim 10 in which said multiple-positionswitches each includes a reset position and terminal point, and saiddevice includes means energizing said second electromagnetic meansthrough said reset position rendered operative in the course of scanningsaid multiple-position switches when a multiple-position switch whichhas been set at said re-set position is in the closed circuit.

12. A structure as claimed in claim 10 in which there is an energizingcircuit closed to said second electromagnetic means when all of saidmultiple-position switches have been scanned whereby to return thecontactor means to initial scanning position.

13. A structure as claimed in claim 10 in which number display means areprovided for displaying the number corresponding to the one of themultiple-position switches which is in the circuit closed by saidcontactor means at any time during the scanning, and said device hassecond step switch means provided with second contactor means and secondcontacts connected to selectively energize said number display means insynchronism with said stepping of said first step switch means.

14. A structure as claimed in claim 10 in which electronic numberdisplay means including 21 digits part and a tens part are providedadapted to be selectively energized in synchronism with said step switchmeans to display numbers corresponding to the number ofmultiple-position switches scanned, in which an electromagneticallyrepetitive multi-contact driven switch is connected with said digitspart to repeatedly energize same during the stepping of the step switchmeans and regardless of how many steps have been taken, and in whichthere are other electromagnetically actuated switch means operating insynchronism with said multi-contact switch and having connections withsaid tens part which are energized once each consecutively for each tensteps to provide the tens digit displays on said tens part.

15. A structure as claimed in claim 10 in which there are at least threeelectronic numeral display tubes, a multiple bank stepping switchsynchronized to step with said step switch means, the first bank havinga plurality of contacts connected to the first tube and adapted duringthe stepping to repeatedly energize said first tube to display the onesnumerals, the other banks having a plurality of connections with saidsecond tube and being arranged to change from digit to digit for eachten steps so as to cause the display of the tens numerals in said secondtube, and circuit means closed to said third tube but only afterninety-nine steps have been made, whereby to energize the same anddisplay a numeral one thereon.

16. A structure as claimed in claim 15 in which said last mentionedcircuit means is associated with and closed by step switch means.

17. A circuit closing device adapted to be operated by receipt of aseries of command signals, having a plurality of circuit-end terminalsand a common output terminal, the circuits adapted to be selectivelyclosed between a 15 pre-determined one of said circuit-end terminals andsaid common output terminal each time that a command signal is received,said device including a plurality of multipleposition switches eachhaving a manually adjustable memher for setting same in one of saidpositions and each having a common conductor and a terminal point foreach position, at least a certain number of the terminal points of eachswitch being connected respectively to the circuitend terminals, anelectro-magnetically energized first step switch'having a plurality ofbanks of contacts, there being i a group of contacts substantially lessthan the number of multiple-position switches on each bank, and eachcontact being connected to one of said common conductors, a contactor oneach bank adapted to move in engagement with the contacts of its bankone at a time as the switch is stepped and all contactors being gangedto move to- 16 gether, a second step switch having a plurality ofcontact terminals and a slider moving between said contact terminals anda buss, and the buss being connected to said common output terminal, thecontact terminals being connected respectively to the contactors of thebanks, said first step switch adapted to be energized by said commandsignals, and said second step switch adapted to be energized for eachcomplete cycle of the contactors, whereby the common output terminal isconnected to the contactor of one bank through the first contactterminal for the first cycle of contactor movement, then is switched tothe second contactor through the second contact terminal, and so onuntil all contacts have been engaged once.

No references cited.

